Thursday, June 07, 2012

Keeping on Track: Log Medicine Doses on the Bottle

I taped this label above the pharmacy label.
In the past year, our household has taken more medicine than ever. It seems at least one of our kids has needed a course of medication at least once a month for the past calendar year.

This is a lot for my tired mind to manage, so I've stolen and consolidated a number of smart tips from Parent Hacks. Now, I reveal to you our household's approach to medications.

I put a blank mailing label, post-it, or piece of paper on the actual medication. I don't ever cover the Rx label with anything I can't easily remove. I write the dosing instructions in easily read letters on either the bottle or the top of the paper (Sharpies don't work on all bottles- especially cold ones).

On the bottle or paper I keep a log (day, date, and time) of doses given.

I used to keep a separate log on the front of the fridge, but I always forgot to update it when I gave the dose. Now, I have the log in-hand as soon as I grab the bottle.

The on-board log makes it a lot easier for others to track, avoids double-dosing, and travels with the medicine automatically. It also keeps things clearer when more than one kid needs medicine (I then write their name on the sheet too).

How do you organize your household's medicines?

***Baby Toolkit is a stream-of-consciousness parenting-related log written by a geek couple from the almost-rural suburbs on a big, blue spinning planet about 93 million miles from the Sun. We are affiliated with the Sun (as users) and with Amazon.com (as affiliates). We are also podcasting about board games at GreatBigTable.com.

4 comments:

Chief Family Officer said...

I'm sorry they've been sick! Thanks for sharing, but hope you don't need to use your own tip much longer :)

adrienne said...

Thanks, CFO! Everyone came down with strep throat this week.

I hope this week will be full of outdoor fun and no unexpected medical appointments.

Jodi Bakken said...

Great idea--thanks for the tip. Things can get confusing at 2 in the morning!

Jennifer Saranow Schultz (aka Hint Mama) said...

Great tips (and that comes from someone who has made the mistake of giving a double dose) :) I linked to your tips in a post on ways to track medicine doses (including a nurse's trick) on my new blog of daily hints to help make parenting easier and cheaper:

http://hintmama.com/2013/12/03/todays-hint-how-to-keep-track-of-medicine-doses/